In the fight against fraud, corporate South Africa is always looking for innovative solutions that will protect them against fraud in a new digital economy. This is also being driven by a deteriorating economic climate and fraudsters who are becoming bold, organised and cunning in their efforts.

As the custodians of fraud prevention, the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS), in collaboration with OneVault and Contactable, has launched Secure Citizen which will change the game when it comes to fighting fraud.

“The SAFPS has realised that our organisation needs to be offering a more proactive service when it comes to fighting fraud. This is why we have launched Secure Citizen,” said Manie van Schalkwyk, CEO of the SAFPS.

Basic, but necessary platform

What benefits will a corporate client get when they access the Secure Citizen platform and technology?

“Corporates will be accessing a platform which includes the ability to digitally onboard consumers by using their facial biometrics which are verified against independent golden source databases.  This will provide corporates with the confidence that the person that they are dealing with is the true consumer and then manage the customers’ digital identity throughout the life cycle of the interaction,” said Van Schalkwyk.

He adds that this means corporates can digitally verify the consumers identity whenever required.  Examples of this could be to increase their credit limit or to make changes to their contact information such their address, or telephone number, or even to authorise a transaction.

Biometric backbone

An important differentiator of Secure Citizen is its biometric backbone which runs in the background of every transaction.

“Face and voice biometrics are used as part of the frictionless digital customer onboarding process to determine that the person is who they say they are and create their digital identity.  The facial biometrics captured are compared to independent golden source databases using an artificial intelligence (AI) enabled platform that performs various biometric comparisons. The platform is further enabled to use multi-factor authentication (MFA) combining various biometric algorithms (face, voice, palm and print) to then further authenticate the customers identity in future,” says Shaun Strydom, CEO of Contactable.

He adds that it is important to note that this platform does not prefer one kind of biometric verification method over another. Rather, it uses a combination of biometrics as well as layering of various other identity data attributes that together provide assurance you are dealing with the correct person. This makes it extremely difficult for fraudsters to successfully bypass the system.

“The digital and low touch economy (social distancing) is a reality and is here to stay.  COVID-19 has further accelerated this transformation. Customers can now exercise choice.  They want control back of their identity, personal information, and consents. Further, they want the freedom to engage in the digital economy through technology they can trust.   Secure Citizen has been designed to address these realities through a fully federated identity as-a-service platform that manages the customer identity lifecycle to reduces identity fraud while also simplifying the compliance and processes needed to service the customer by corporates across multiple ecosystems,” says Strydom.

Changing the game

One of the advantages of Secure Citizen is that it will give corporates a much-needed advantage when it comes to using AI driven technology for Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance.

“Secure Citizen is relevant, appropriate, fit-for-purpose and affordable. The platform will also mature over time and add more value. The platform is market tested and already in use and provides the concept of a trusted identity ecosystem. This is something that many organisations, individuals, and governments have been striving to attain. We believe that Secure Citizen is being launched at a time when the market (both locally and internationally) is ready and, importantly, has a real need - for it,” says Paul Hutton, CEO of OneVault.

He added that if companies are serious about identity management and are intent on digitally transforming their organisation, the Secure Citizen solution should be seriously considered.  New ways of work as well as the associated new ways of engagement are forcing companies to sit up and change their business processes to enable them to attract and retain customers. The added benefit is that using this type of identity solution can manage and mitigate identity and associated fraud risk in a fashion that utilises technology in an efficient, secure and convenient manner.

Easy onboarding

Secure Citizen brings corporate clients and their customers to the forefront of highly secure digital identity management while providing them with the flexibility and ease of use to interact with each other confidently and seamlessly.

“Technology is often confusing, and clients are looking for systems that offer simplicity and easy on-boarding. This is another significant advantage of Secure Citizen. Corporate clients can on-board consumers by using multiple channels. These include SMS, WhatsApp, Website and the corporate client’s own mobile application,” says van Schalkwyk adding that this should give users a complete peace of mind about the value of the platform.

Organisations who want to join a webinar to see Secure Citizen in action visit the website www.securecitizen.co.za and register for the webinar on 23 July 2020

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ISSUED FOR AND ON BEHALF OF SOUTH AFRICAN FRAUD PREVENTION SERVICES GROUP:

PEARLMAR NSIMBINE
OF BULLION PR & COMMUNICATION
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CELL:  081 551 2510
LANDLINE: (0)10 009-6857